October 4, 2008

Billy Bob Orsagh Tosses A School-Record Six Touchdown Passes In Pioneers’ 45-37 Win Over Marian

 
The Malone University football team opened Mid-States Football Association Mideast League play on Saturday afternoon at Fawcett Stadium with a high-scoring 45-37 victory over visiting Marian (IN) College.  Prior to Saturday’s home opener, there was plenty of excitement in the air with Homecoming festivities in full swing, new uniforms, and Friday’s name change from Malone College to Malone University.  This pre-game excitement carried over the field as the Pioneers and Knights competed in a thrilling offensive shootout that saw a combined 1013 total yards of offense, 11 touchdowns, and just four punts.  Malone led 24-16 at halftime and then maintained at least an eight-point advantage over the final two quarters as each squad tacked on three touchdowns in the second half en route to the 45-37 final.  The loss brought Marian’s three-game winning streak to a halt, dropping the Knights’ record to 3-2 overall and 0-2 MSFA Mideast.  The Pioneers, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play with the victory.
 
Malone scored on each of its first three possessions to take an early lead in Saturday’s contest.  Quarterback Billy Bob Orsagh (Sr., Eastland, TX) capped off the Pioneers’ first two drives with touchdown passes to Chris Carpinelli (Athens H.S.) and Derek Deardorff (Kenton H.S.).   Each of these scoring tosses carried added significance for their recipients as the nine-yard pass to Carpinelli marked the sophomore tight end’s first career TD grab while Deardorff’s 10-yard scoring reception gave the senior wide receiver 22 career touchdowns catches, moving him into a tie with Eric Miller and Shane Hostetler for the Malone career record.  Following these two early TD passes, kicker Nick Allison (Fr., Lake H.S.) booted a 26-yard field goal on the opening snap of the second quarter to put the Pioneers in front 17-0.
 
The Knights were able to respond to Malone’s early offensive outburst with scores on each of their next three possessions.  Running back William Stubbs got Marian on the scoreboard with an eight-yard touchdown run (two-point conversion attempt was no good).  Following a turnover on downs by the Pioneers, the visitors then successfully executed a fake punt as the Marian long snapper handed the ball to Knight linebacker Paul Washington.  With all eyes awaiting the punt, the 6’1” sophomore then took off down the sideline, rumbling 61 yards to the endzone to cut Marian’s deficit to 17-13.  After a tipped Orsagh pass was intercepted by Knight defensive lineman David Brunley on Malone’s next drive, Marian kicker Bryan Quackenbush tacked on three more points with a 37-yard field goal to pull the visitors within one at 17-16.
 
The Pioneers answered back on their final possession of the half with a 10-play, 63-yard march that was capped off by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Orsagh to running back Joseph Peters (Jr., Concord, CA).  Malone then stretched its advantage to 31-16 early in the third quarter as Orsagh hit wide receiver Josh Settlemire (Sr., Howland H.S.) on a 12-yard TD toss. 
 
However, just as it had done throughout the day, Marian kept fighting back, scoring on a five-yard run later in the third stanza to trim the Pioneers’ lead to 31-23.  The seesaw battle continued in the fourth quarter as the squads traded trips to the endzone.  Orsagh and Settlemire connected twice more on TD passes of two and 19 yards.  The Knights answered these scores with a five-yard touchdown run and 20-yard touchdown pass but Marian was unable to completely close the gap, falling by the 45-37 final.
 
Malone racked up 215 rushing yards and 353 passing yards for an incredible 568 yards of total offense.  Marian also had success moving the ball, posting 445 total offensive yards in the contest, including 212 yards on the ground and 233 through the air.  The Pioneers held an over 11-minute advantage in time of possession (35:44 to 24:16) and allowed the Knights to convert on only three of 12 third-down conversions.
 
Orsagh put together a remarkable performance under center as he completed 31 of his 41 throws for 353 yards, setting a new Malone single-game record with six touchdown passes.  Settlemire also left his mark on the Pioneer record book in Saturday’s contest as he tied the Malone record for receptions in a game, ending the day with 13 catches for 179 yards and three scores (Bubba Constantini also caught 13 passes against St. Ambrose in 1998).  Deardorff caught nine passes for 86 yards and a touchdown while Carpinelli posted four receptions for 35 yards and one TD.
 
Peters and fellow running back Maurice Gore (So., Lansing, MI) each posted impressive numbers in the running game as Peters gained 99 yards on 19 carries and Gore notched 101 yards on 18 attempts.
 
Defensive back Andy Bartell (Sr., Hesston, KS) paced the Pioneer defense with eight total tackles (four solo) and one tackle for loss.  Linebacker Corey Komertz (Jr., Chardon H.S.) followed with six total tackles (five solo), one tackle for loss and one forced fumble.  Defensive lineman Ronnell Lee (Sr., Collinwood H.S.) added four total tackles (two solo) with one sack while defensive back Dennis Thornton (Sr., Shaker Heights H.S.) registered three total tackles (one solo) and recovered a fumble.
 
For Marian, Stubbs gained 98 rushing yards on 14 carries to go with four catches for 45 yards and three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving).  Quarterback Matt Rogers completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 236 yards and one touchdown.   In addition to his touchdown run on the fake punt, Washington paced the Marian defense with a game-high 10 total tackles (six solo), including 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
This week, Malone (2-1 overall, 1-0 MSFA Mideast) will travel to Taylor (IN) University (2-3 overall, 0-1 MSFA Mideast) on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. contest.  The Pioneers hold a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Trojans.  Malone has won each of the last three contests between the two schools including a 33-14 victory at Fawcett Stadium last season.
 
Malone Notes: Deardorff has now caught a touchdown pass in six straight games (including the final three games of last season)…Settlemire was just 20 yards shy of breaking his own Pioneer single-game record for receiving yards on Saturday (Settlemire set the current Malone record for receiving yards with 198 against Urbana in 2005)…Settlemire’s 179 receiving yards in Saturday’s contest marked the third highest single-game total ever posted by a Pioneer…Malone’s 568 total yards of offense marked the squad’s highest offensive output since the unit put up 691 yards in a 42-35 win over Walsh last season.
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